Server picking in a virtual private network

ABSTRACT

A method including transmitting, by a requesting user device to an infrastructure device associated with a virtual private network (VPN), a connection request for receiving VPN services; receiving, by the requesting user device from the infrastructure device, connection information associated with a VPN server selected for providing the VPN services to the requesting user device, the VPN server being selected based at least in part on a comparison between a parameter associated with the requesting user device and a current parameter associated with another user device currently receiving VPN services from the VPN server; and transmitting, by the requesting user device to the VPN server, an initiation request to receive the VPN services from the VPN server based at least in part on utilizing the connection information is disclosed. Various other aspects are contemplated.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 17/367,337, filed on Jul. 3, 2021, and titled“Server Picking In A Virtual Private Network,” the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

FILED OF DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), and more particularly to server picking in a VPN.

BACKGROUND

Global Internet users increasingly rely on VPN services to preservetheir privacy, to circumvent censorship, and/or to access geo-filteredcontent. Originally developed as a technology to privately send andreceive data across public networks, VPNs are now used broadly as aprivacy-preserving technology that allows Internet users to obscure notonly the communicated data but also personal information such as, forexample, web browsing history from third parties including Internetservice providers (ISPs), Spywares, or the like. A VPN service providermay offer a secure private networking environment within a publiclyshared, insecure infrastructure through encapsulation and encryption ofthe data communicated between a VPN client application (or VPNapplication) installed on a user device and a remote VPN server.

Most VPN providers rely on a tunneling protocol to create the secureprivate networking environment, which adds a layer of security toprotect each IP packet of the communicated data during communicationover the Internet. Tunneling may be associated with enclosing an entireIP packet within an outer IP packet to form an encapsulated IP packet,and transporting the enclosed IP packet over the Internet. The outer IPpacket may protect contents of the enclosed IP packet from public viewby ensuring that the enclosed IP packet is transmitted over the Internetwithin a virtual tunnel. Such a virtual tunnel may be a point-to-pointtunnel established between the user device and the VPN server. Theprocess of enclosing the entire IP packet within the outer IP packet maybe referred to as encapsulation. Computers, servers, or other networkdevices at ends of the virtual tunnel may be referred to as tunnelinterfaces and may be capable of encapsulating outgoing IP packets andof unwrapping incoming encapsulated IP packets.

Encryption may be associated with changing the data from being in atransparently readable format to being in an encoded, unreadable formatwith the help of an encryption algorithm. Decryption may be associatedwith changing the data from being in the encoded, unreadable format tobeing in the transparently readable format with the help of a decryptionalgorithm. In an example, encoded/encrypted data may bedecoded/decrypted with only a correct decryption key. In a VPN,encryption may render the communicated data unreadable or indecipherableto any third party. At a basic level, when the user launches theinstalled VPN application and connects to the VPN server, the VPNapplication may encrypt all contents of the data before transmissionover the Internet to the VPN server. Upon receipt, the VPN server maydecrypt the encrypted data and forward the decrypted data to an intendedtarget via the Internet. Similarly, the VPN server may encrypt allcontents of the data before transmission over the Internet to the userdevice. Upon receipt, the VPN application on the user device may decryptthe encrypted data and provide the decrypted data to the user.

VPNs generally use different types of encryption and decryptionalgorithms to encrypt and decrypt the communicated data. Symmetricencryption may utilize encryption and decryption algorithms that rely ona single private key for encryption and decryption of data. Symmetricencryption is considered to be relatively speedy. One example of anencryption and decryption algorithm utilized by symmetric encryption maybe an AES encryption cipher. Asymmetric encryption, on the other hand,may utilize encryption and decryption algorithms that rely on twoseparate but mathematically-related keys for encryption and decryptionof data. In one example, data encrypted using a public key may bedecrypted using a separate but mathematically-related private key. Thepublic key may be publicly available through a directory, while theprivate key may remain confidential and accessible by only an owner ofthe private key. Asymmetric encryption may also be referred to as publickey cryptography. One example of an encryption and decryption algorithmutilized by asymmetric encryption may be Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)protocol.

In a VPN, keys for encryption and decryption may be randomly generatedstrings of bits. Each key may be generated to be unique. A length of anencryption key may be given by a number of the randomly generated stringbits, and the longer the length of the encryption key, the stronger theencryption is.

VPNs may employ user authentication, which may involve verification ofcredentials required to confirm authenticity/identity of the user. Forinstance, when a user launches the VPN application to request a VPNconnection, the VPN service provider may authenticate the user deviceprior to providing the user device with access to VPN services. In thisway, user authentication may provide a form of access control.Typically, user authentication may include verification of a uniquecombination of a user ID and password. To provide improved security inthe VPN, user authentication may include additional factors such asknowledge, possession, inheritance, or the like. Knowledge factors mayinclude items (e.g., pin numbers) that an authentic user may be expectedto know. Possession factors may include items (e.g., one-time password(OTP) tokens) that an authentic user may be expected to possess at atime associated with the authentication. Inherent factors may includebiometric items (e.g., fingerprint scans, retina scans, iris scans, orthe like) that may be inherent traits of an authentic user.

A VPN may be associated with a network of VPN servers, typicallydeployed in various geographic locations. A VPN server may be a physicalserver or a virtual server configured to host and/or globally deliverVPN services to the user. A server may be a combination of hardware andsoftware, and may include logical and physical communication ports. Whenlaunched, the VPN application may connect with a selected VPN server forsecure communication of data via the virtual tunnel.

The VPN application, installed on the user device, may utilizesoftware-based technology to establish a secure connection between theuser device and a VPN server. Some VPN applications may automaticallywork in the background on the user device while other VPN applicationsmay include front-end interfaces to allow the user to interact with andconfigure the VPN applications. VPN applications may often be installedon a computer (e.g., user device), though some entities may provide apurpose-built VPN application as a hardware device that is pre-installedwith software to enable the VPN. Typically, a VPN application mayutilize one or more VPN protocols to encrypt and decrypt thecommunicated data. Some commonly used VPN protocols may include OpenVPN,SSTP, PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, SSL/TLS, Wireguard, IKEv2, and SoftEther.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present disclosure contemplates a method for serverpicking in a virtual private network (VPN), the method comprisingobtaining information from a connection request received from arequesting user device requesting VPN services; determining a parameterbased at least in part on the obtained information; comparing thedetermined parameter with a current parameter associated with a currentuser device currently receiving VPN services; and determining an optimalVPN server for providing VPN services to the requesting user devicebased at least in part on a result of comparing the determined parameterwith the current parameter.

In another aspect, the present disclosure contemplates a deviceassociated with a VPN, the device comprising a memory; and a processorcommunicatively coupled to the memory, the processor being configuredto: obtain information from a connection request received from arequesting user device requesting VPN services; determine a parameterbased at least in part on the obtained information; compare thedetermined parameter with a current parameter associated with a currentuser device currently receiving VPN services; and determine an optimalVPN server for providing VPN services to the requesting user devicebased at least in part on a result of comparing the determined parameterwith the current parameter.

In another aspect, the present disclosure contemplates a non-transitorycomputer readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by aprocessor cause the processor to: obtain information from a connectionrequest received from a requesting user device requesting VPN services;determine a parameter based at least in part on the obtainedinformation; compare the determined parameter with a current parameterassociated with a current user device currently receiving VPN services;and determine an optimal VPN server for providing VPN services to therequesting user device based at least in part on a result of comparingthe determined parameter with the current parameter.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory innature and are intended to provide an understanding of the presentdisclosure without limiting the scope thereof. In that regard,additional aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosurewill be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate aspects of systems, devices,methods, and/or mediums disclosed herein and together with thedescription, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.Throughout this description, like elements, in whatever aspectdescribed, refer to common elements wherever referred to and referencedby the same reference number. The characteristics, attributes,functions, interrelations ascribed to a particular element in onelocation apply to those elements when referred to by the same referencenumber in another location unless specifically stated otherwise.

The figures referenced below are drawn for ease of explanation of thebasic teachings of the present disclosure; the extensions of the figureswith respect to number, position, relationship, and dimensions of theparts to form the following aspects may be explained or may be withinthe skill of the art after the following description has been read andunderstood. Further, exact dimensions and dimensional proportions toconform to specific force, weight, strength, and similar requirementswill likewise be within the skill of the art after the followingdescription has been read and understood.

The following is a brief description of each figure used to describe thepresent disclosure, and thus, is being presented for illustrativepurposes only and should not be limitative of the scope of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example system associated with serverpicking in a VPN, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example flow associated with serverpicking in a VPN, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example process associated with serverpicking in a VPN, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example process associated with serverpicking in a VPN, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of example devices, according to variousaspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of thepresent disclosure, reference will now be made to the aspectsillustrated in the drawings, and specific language may be used todescribe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitationof the scope of the disclosure is intended. Any alterations and furthermodifications to the described devices, instruments, methods, and anyfurther application of the principles of the present disclosure arefully contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art towhich the disclosure relates. In particular, it is fully contemplatedthat the features, components, and/or steps described with respect toone aspect may be combined with the features, components, and/or stepsdescribed with respect to other aspects of the present disclosure. Forthe sake of brevity, however, the numerous iterations of thesecombinations may not be described separately. For simplicity, in someinstances the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings torefer to the same or like parts.

The present disclosure is related to server picking. In some aspects,server picking may be associated with determining a VPN server, fromamong a plurality of VPN servers, as an optimal VPN server for providingVPN services to a user device.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example system 100 associated withserver picking in a VPN, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 1 shows an example architectural depiction ofcomponents included in system 100 (e.g., service environment). In someaspects, the components may include a user device 102 capable ofcommunicating with one or more VPN servers 120 and with a VPN serviceprovider (VSP) infrastructure 104 over a network 122. The VSP controlinfrastructure 104 may be controlled by a VPN service provider and mayinclude an application programming interface (API) 106, a user database108, server picking unit 110 including a scoring engine 112 and aprocessing unit 114, a server database 116 and a testing module 118. Asshown in FIG. 1 , the API 106 may be capable of communicating with theuser database 108 and with the server picking unit 110. Additionally,the server picking unit 110 may be capable of communicating with theserver database, which may be capable of communicating with the testingmodule 118. The testing module 118 may be capable of communicating withthe one or more VPN servers 120 over the network 122.

The user device 102 may be a physical computing device capable ofhosting a VPN application and of connecting to the network 122. The userdevice 102 may be, for example, a laptop, a mobile phone, a tabletcomputer, a desktop computer, a smart device, a router, or the like. Insome aspects, the user device 102 may include, for example,Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices such as VSP smart home appliances,smart home security systems, autonomous vehicles, smart health monitors,smart factory equipment, wireless inventory trackers, biometric cybersecurity scanners, or the like. The network 122 may be any digitaltelecommunication network that permits several nodes to share and accessresources. In some aspects, the network 122 may include one or more of,for example, a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), acampus-area network (CAN), a metropolitan-area network (MAN), ahome-area network (HAN), Internet, Intranet, Extranet, and Internetwork.

The VSP control infrastructure 104 may include a combination of hardwareand software components that enable provision of VPN services, includingserver picking, to the user device 102. The VSP control infrastructure104 may interface with (the VPN application on) the user device 102 viathe API 106, which may include one or more endpoints to a definedrequest-response message system. In some aspects, the API 106 may beconfigured to receive, via the network 122, a connection request fromthe user device 102 to establish a VPN connection with a VPN server 120.The connection request may include an authentication request toauthenticate the user device 102 and/or a request for an IP address ofan optimal VPN server for establishment of the VPN connection therewith.In some aspects, an optimal VPN server may be a single VPN server 120 ora combination of one or more VPN servers 120. The API 106 may receivethe authentication request and the request for an IP address of anoptimal VPN server in a single connection request. In some aspects, theAPI 106 may receive the authentication request and the request for an IPaddress of an optimal VPN server in separate connection requests.

The API 106 may further be configured to handle the connection requestby mediating the authentication request. For instance, the API 106 mayreceive from the user device 102 credentials including, for example, aunique combination of a user ID and password for purposes ofauthenticating the user device 102. The API 106 may provide the receivedcredentials to the user database 108 for verification.

The user database 108 may include a structured repository of validcredentials belonging to authentic users. In one example, the structuredrepository may include one or more tables containing valid uniquecombinations of user IDs and passwords belonging to authentic users. TheVPN service provider may add or delete such valid unique combinations ofuser IDs and passwords from the structured repository at any time. Basedat least in part on receiving the credentials from the API 106, the userdatabase 108 and an associated processor (e.g., a local processor or aremote processor) may verify the received credentials by matching thereceived credentials with the valid credentials stored in the structuredrepository. In some aspects, the API 106 along with the user database108 and the processor may authenticate the user device 102 when thereceived credentials match at least one of the valid credentials. Inthis case, the VPN service provider may provide VPN services to the userdevice 102. When the received credentials fail to match at least one ofthe valid credentials, the user database 108 and the processor may failto authenticate the user device 102. In this case, the VPN serviceprovider may decline to provide VPN services to the user device 102.

When the user device 102 is authenticated, the user device 102 mayinitiate a VPN connection and may transmit to the API 106 may a requestfor an IP address of an optimal VPN server. The server picking unit 110included in the VSP control infrastructure may be configured todetermine/identify a single VPN server 120 as the optimal server or alist of VPN servers. The server picking unit 110 may utilize the API 106to transmit the IP address of the optimal server or IP addresses of theVPN servers 120 included in the list to the user device 102. In the casewhere the list of IP addresses of the VPN servers 120 is provided, theuser device 102 may have an option to select a single VPN server 120from among the listed VPN servers as the optimal server 120. The userdevice 102 may establish an encrypted tunnel with the optimal VPNserver. In some aspects, a VPN server 120 may be a piece of physical orvirtual computer hardware and/or software capable of securelycommunicating with (the VPN application on) the user device 102 forprovision of VPN services.

The server picking unit 110 may be a logical unit including the scoringengine 112 and the processing unit 114. The processing unit 114 mayinclude a logical component configured to perform complex operations tocompute numerical weights related to various factors associated with theVPN servers 120. The scoring engine 112 may likewise include a logicalcomponent configured to perform arithmetical and logical operations tocompute a server penalty score for one or more of the VPN servers 120.In some aspects, a server penalty score may be a numerical indicator ofa quality and/or a condition of a VPN server 120. In some aspects, thescoring engine 112 and the processing unit 114 may be included in asingle processor.

To calculate the server penalty score, the server picking unit 110 mayutilize server information. In some aspects, the server information maybe stored, for example, in the server database 116. The server database116 (and the user database 108) may be a conventional database offeredby MySQL, MSSQL, NoSQL, or an object-oriented database, or any othertype or category of a database. The server database 116 (and the userdatabase 108) may include a memory or may be included within a memory ofa computing device or within a cloud environment.

The server information may include information regarding a plurality offactors and/or conditions associated with the VPN servers 120. Suchserver information may be collected by the testing module 118 bycommunicating with the plurality of VPN servers 120 via the network 122.In some aspects, the testing module 118 may include a processor capableof querying the plurality of VPN servers 120 to collect the serverinformation. For instance, Testing Module 118 may be configured tomonitor and measure a network load of one or more VPN servers 120periodically or aperiodically, and to store such server information inthe server database 116. All or part of the server information populatedinto the server database 116 may be utilized by the server picking unit110 to calculate server penalty scores.

The server picking unit 110 may determine the optimal VPN server basedat least in part on the server penalty scores for the VPN servers 120.In one example, the server picking unit 110 may determine the VPN server120 with the lowest server penalty score as the optimal VPN server. Inanother example, the server picking unit 110 may determine the list ofoptimal VPN servers by including, for example, three (or any othernumber) VPN servers 120 with the three lowest server penalty scores.

One or more components (e.g., API 106, user database 108, server pickingunit 110, server database 116, and/or testing module 118) included inthe VSP control infrastructure 104 may further include acontroller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof. Alternatively,in some aspects, the one or more components of the set of components maybe implemented within a controller/processor, a memory, or a combinationthereof. In some aspects, one or more of the components included in theVSP control infrastructure 104 may be separate and distinct from eachother. Alternatively, in some aspects, one or more of the componentsincluded in the VSP control infrastructure 104 may be combined with oneor more of other components included in the VSP control infrastructure104. In some aspects, one or more of the components included in the VSPcontrol infrastructure 104 may be local with respect to each other.Alternatively, in some aspects, one or more of the components includedin the VSP control infrastructure 104 may be located remotely withrespect to one or more of other components included in the VSP controlinfrastructure 104. Additionally, or alternatively, one or morecomponents of the components included in the VSP control infrastructure104 may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory.For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may beimplemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processorto perform the functions or operations of the component. Additionally,or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in FIG. 1 mayperform one or more functions described as being performed by anotherset of components shown in FIG. 1 .

As indicated above, FIG. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 1 .

The server picking unit 110 may consider a plurality of factors todetermine the server penalty score for a VPN server 120. Such pluralityof factors may include qualities and/or conditions associated with theVPN server 120 such as a geolocation of the VPN server 120, a currentnetwork load associated with the VPN server 120, a proximity of the VPNserver 120 to an international Internet exchange hub (e.g., hub score),a random value, or the like.

The geolocation of the VPN server 120 may be associated with ageographical location of the VPN server 120. In some aspects, the serverpicking unit 110 may consider a VPN server 120 that is locatedgeographically closer to the user device 102 more suitable for providingthe VPN services to the user device 102 as compared to a VPN server 120that is located geographically farther away from the user device 102.This may be because the geographically closer VPN server 120 is morelikely to enable a robust connection and a higher network speed withrespect to the VPN server 120 that is geographically farther away. Thesmaller the distance of the VPN server 120 from the user device 102, theless distance the IP packets have to travel over the network 122,thereby facilitating higher network speed. As a result, the serverpicking unit 110 may assign a lower server penalty score to thegeographically closer VPN server 120 and a higher server penalty scoreto the VPN server 120 that is geographically farther away.

The current network load associated with the VPN server 120 may indicatean amount of available bandwidth of the VPN server 120 to provide theVPN services to the user device 102. The amount of available bandwidthmay be correlated to, for example, a number of user devices 102currently being serviced by the VPN server 120. In some aspects, theserver picking unit 110 may consider a VPN server 120 that has a largeramount of available bandwidth more suitable for providing the VPNservices to the user device 102 as compared to a VPN server 120 that hasa smaller amount of available bandwidth. This may be because the VPNserver 120 having the larger amount of available bandwidth may have moreavailable resources (e.g., processing power, memory, or the like) to beable to provide a larger amount of VPN services to the user device 102as compared to the VPN server 120 having the smaller amount of availablebandwidth and fewer available resources. For similar reasons, the VPNserver 120 having the larger amount of available bandwidth may be ableto provide the VPN services with higher network speeds as compared tothe VPN server 120 having the smaller amount of available bandwidth. Asa result, the server picking unit 110 may assign a lower server penaltyscore to the VPN server 120 having the larger amount of availablebandwidth and a higher server penalty score to the VPN server 120 havingthe smaller amount of available bandwidth.

A proximity of the VPN server 120 to an international Internet exchangehub (IIEH) may be associated with a geographical closeness of the VPNserver 120 to the IIEH. In some aspects, the server picking unit 110 mayconsider a VPN server 120 that is located geographically closer to theIIEH more suitable for providing the VPN services to the user device 102as compared to a VPN server 120 that is located geographically fartheraway from the IIEH. This may be because the geographically closer VPNserver 120 is more likely to enable a robust connection and a highernetwork speed with respect to the geographically farther away VPN server120. The smaller the distance of the VPN server 120 from the IIEH, thebetter the connection quality and the faster the connection, therebyfacilitating higher network speed. As a result, the server picking unit110 may assign a lower server penalty score to the VPN server 120 thatis geographically closer to the IIEH and a higher server penalty scoreto the VPN server 120 that is geographically farther away from the IIEH.

Based on a combination of the above (and other) factors, the serverpicking unit 110 may determine the optimal VPN server or the list of VPNservers. The user device 102 may attempt to establish a VPN connectionwith an optimal VPN server (e.g., the optimal server determined by theserver picking unit 110 or a VPN server from the list of VPN servers).

The user device 102 may fail to establish the VPN connection with theoptimal VPN server due to, for example, localized blocking. In oneexample, an ISP that may be local to the optimal VPN server and/or mayprovide Internet services to the optimal VPN server may block access tothe optimal VPN server by the user device 102 because the user device102 may be located outside a given geographical area (e.g., a town, acity, a state, a country, or the like). In another example, a localgovernment may block access to the optimal VPN server located within agiven geographical area (e.g., a town, a city, a state, a country, orthe like) under jurisprudence of the local government by the user device102 because the user device 102 is located outside the givengeographical area. In yet another example, an educational institutionmay block access to the optimal VPN server by affiliated individuals(e.g., students, teachers, staff, or the like). Alternatively, theeducational institution may block access to the optimal VPN server thatis under the control of the educational institution by unaffiliatedindividuals. In these cases, the user device 102 may fail to establishthe VPN connection with the optimal VPN server. As a result, varioususer device resources (e.g., processing power, memory consumption,battery life, or the like) and/or VPN resources (e.g., bandwidth,processing power, memory consumption, or the like) may be unnecessarilyconsumed to enable the user device 102 to establish the VPN connectionwith the optimal VPN server. Additionally, a delay may be introduced inproviding the VPN services to the user device 102.

Various aspects of systems and techniques discussed in the presentdisclosure enable server picking in a VPN. In some aspects, thetechniques enable a server picking unit to obtain information such as,for example, an IP address of a requesting user device from a connectionrequest received from the requesting user device. The server pickingunit may determine, based at least in part on the obtained information,one or more parameters such as, for example, an autonomous system numberindicating an ISP servicing the requesting user device, a location ofthe requesting user device, a subnetwork (or subnet) associated with therequesting user device, a type of network (e.g., mobile network,non-mobile network, or the like) being used by the requesting userdevice, or the like. Further, the server picking unit may compare thedetermined one or more parameters with one or more current parametersrelated to a current user device, which may currently have anestablished connection with a VPN server. In some aspects, the currentuser device may be a user device to whom VPN services are currentlybeing provided. Based at least in part on a result of the comparison,the server picking unit may determine an optimal VPN server forproviding VPN services to the requesting user device. In one example,the server picking unit may determine, as the optimal VPN server, theVPN server that is currently providing VPN services to the current userdevice when the determined one or more parameters is the same as orshares an attribute with the one or more current parameters.

In some aspects, the present disclosure contemplates obtaininginformation from a connection request received from a requesting userdevice, determining a parameter based at least in part on the obtainedinformation, comparing the determined parameter with a parameterassociated with a current user device, and determining an optimal serverfor providing services to the requesting user device based at least inpart on a result of the comparison. In this way, efficient utilizationof various user device resources (e.g., processing power, memoryconsumption, battery life, or the like) and/or VPN resources (e.g.,bandwidth, processing power, memory consumption, or the like) may beenabled. Additionally, a delay may be avoided in providing the VPNservices to the user device.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example flow associated with serverpicking in a VPN, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 2 shows a requesting user device 102 in communicationwith a VSP control infrastructure 104. In some aspects, the requestinguser device 102 may communicate with the VSP control infrastructure 104over a network (e.g., network 122). In some aspects, the requesting userdevice 102 may utilize a VPN application to communicate with an API(e.g., API 106) included in the VSP control infrastructure 104.

As shown by reference numeral 210, the requesting user device 102 maytransmit a connection request to the VSP control infrastructure 104 forpurposes of connecting to a VPN server associated with the VSP controlinfrastructure 104 and receiving a VPN service. In some aspects, theconnection request may include a request for information (e.g., IPaddress) associated with the VPN server.

As shown by reference numeral 220, the VSP control infrastructure 104may obtain information included in and/or indicated by the connectionrequest. Such obtained information may include, for example, an IPaddress associated with the requesting user device 102. Additionally, oralternatively, the obtained information may include, for example,information associated with a network configuration of the requestinguser device 102. In some aspects, the server picking unit 110, includingthe scoring engine 112 and the processing unit 114, may be responsiblefor obtaining the information included in and/or indicated by theconnection request.

As shown by reference numeral 230, based at least in part on theobtained information, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine aparameter associated with the requesting user device 102. Such aparameter may include one or more of an autonomous system number (ASN)associated with the requesting user device 102, a subnetwork (or subnet)associated with the requesting user device 102, a type of network (e.g.,mobile network, non-mobile network, or the like) being used by therequesting user device 102, or the like. In some aspects, the serverpicking unit 110, including the scoring engine 112 and the processingunit 114, may be responsible for determining the parameter associatedwith the requesting user device 102.

In an example, based at least part on the IP address associated with therequesting user device 102, the VSP control infrastructure 104 maydetermine the ASN associated with the requesting user device 102. Insome aspects, the ASN associated with the requesting user device 102 maybe a unique ASN associated with a particular ISP provider providingInternet services to the requesting user device 102. Such a unique ASNmay be shared by all user devices to whom the particular ISP providerprovides Internet services. Similarly, based at least in part on the IPaddress associated with the requesting user device 102, the VSP controlinfrastructure 104 may determine a location (e.g., locality, city,state, country, or the like) of the requesting user device 102, a subnetwithin which the requesting user device 102 may be operating, and/or thetype of network being used by the requesting user device 102 tocommunicate with the VSP control infrastructure 104.

As shown by reference numeral 240, the VSP control infrastructure 104may compare the determined parameter associated with the requesting userdevice 102 with one or more current parameters associated with a currentuser device. In some aspects, the current user device may be currentlyreceiving the VPN services from a given VPN server 120. In some aspects,the server picking unit 110, including the scoring engine 112 and theprocessing unit 114, may be responsible for comparing the determinedparameter associated with the requesting user device 102 with one ormore current parameters associated with a current user device.

In an example, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may compare thedetermined ASN (and/or any other determined parameter) associated withthe requesting user device 102 with a current ASN associated with thecurrent user device. Based at least in part on comparing the determinedASN with the current ASN, the VSP control infrastructure 104 maydetermine that the determined ASN is the same as the current ASN. Insome aspects, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine that thedetermined ASN shares one or more attributes with the current ASN (e.g.,the determined ASN and the current ASN are different and both ASNs areassociated with a single ISP). In these situations, the VSP controlinfrastructure 104 may determine that the requesting user device 102 andthe current user device share the ISP (e.g., are serviced by the ISP).

Similarly, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may compare the determinedlocation (and/or any other determined parameter) associated with therequesting user device 102 with a current location associated with thecurrent user device. Based at least in part on comparing the determinedlocation with the current location, the VSP control infrastructure 104may determine that the determined location is the same as the currentlocation. In another example, the VSP control infrastructure 104 maydetermine that that the determined location shares one or moreattributes with the current location (e.g., the determined location andthe current location are different and both locations are associated bybeing in or around, for example, the same building, the sameneighborhood, the same locality, the same city, the same state, the samecountry, or the like). In these situations, the VSP controlinfrastructure 104 may determine that the requesting user device 102 andthe current user device share a similar location.

In another example, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may compare thedetermined subnet (and/or any other determined parameter) associatedwith the requesting user device 102 with a current subnet associatedwith the current user device. Based at least in part on comparing thedetermined subnet with the current subnet, the VSP controlinfrastructure 104 may determine that the determined subnet is the sameas the current subnet. In another example, the VSP controlinfrastructure 104 may determine that that the determined subnet sharesone or more attributes with the current subnet (e.g., the determinedsubnet and the current subnet are different and both subnets areassociated with the same parent network and/or with the same ISP). Inthese situations, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine thatthe requesting user device 102 and the current user device share asimilar subnet.

In yet another example, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may comparethe determined type of network (and/or any other determined parameter)associated with the requesting user device 102 with a current type ofnetwork associated with the current user device. Based at least in parton comparing the determined type of network with the current type ofnetwork, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine that thedetermined type of network is the same as the current type of network.For instance, the VSP control infrastructure may determine that thedetermined type of network and the current type of network are bothmobile networks (or are both non-mobile networks). In another example,the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine that that thedetermined type of network shares one or more attributes with thecurrent type of network (e.g., the determined type of network and thecurrent type of network are of different types and both types ofnetworks are associated with the same parent network and/or with thesame ISP). In these situations, the VSP control infrastructure 104 maydetermine that the requesting user device 102 and the current userdevice share a similar type of network.

In some aspects, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may compare thedetermined parameter associated with the requesting user device 102 withone or more historical parameters available in a history associated witha VPN server. The one or more historical parameters may include, forexample, a location associated with previous user devices that havereceived VPN services via a given VPN server (e.g., previouslyestablished a VPN connection with the given VPN server and/or beganreceiving VPN services from the given VPN server) within a recent giventime period (e.g., 30 minutes, 60 minutes, or the like), an ASNassociated with previous user devices that have received VPN servicesvia a given VPN server (e.g., previously established a VPN connectionwith the given VPN server and/or began receiving VPN services from thegiven VPN server) within a recent given time period (e.g., 30 minutes,60 minutes, or the like), a subnet associated with previous user devicesthat have received VPN services via a given VPN server (e.g., previouslyestablished a VPN connection with the given VPN server and/or beganreceiving VPN services from the given VPN server) within a recent giventime period (e.g., 30 minutes, 60 minutes, or the like), a type ofnetwork associated with previous user devices that have received VPNservices via a given VPN server (e.g., previously established a VPNconnection with the given VPN server and/or began receiving VPN servicesfrom the given VPN server) within a recent given time period (e.g., 30minutes, 60 minutes, or the like). Based at least in part on a result ofcomparing the determined parameter with the one or more historicalparameters, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine that thedetermined parameter is the same as the one or more historicalparameters. In another example, the VSP control infrastructure 104 maydetermine that that the determined parameter shares one or moreattributes with the one or more historical parameters. In thesesituations, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine that therequesting user device 102 and the user devices that have received VPNservices via a given VPN server within the recent given time period aresimilar in some ways as discussed elsewhere herein (e.g., share the sameor similar location, share the same or similar ISP, share the same orsimilar subnet, share the same or similar type of network, or the like).

As shown by reference numeral 250, the VSP control infrastructure 104may determine an optimal VPN server based at least in part on a resultof comparing the determined parameter with a current parameter and/or ahistorical parameter. For instance, when the VSP control infrastructure104 determines that the determined parameter and the current parameterand/or the historical parameter (e.g., ASN, location, and/or any otherparameter) are the same or share an attribute, the VSP controlinfrastructure 104 may determine that the given VPN server 120, which iscurrently capable of providing VPN services to the current user deviceand/or the previous user device, may also be currently capable ofproviding VPN services to the requesting user device 102. In someaspects, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine that the givenVPN server 120 is more suitable for currently providing VPN services tothe requesting user device 102 than another VPN server 120 because thegiven VPN server 120 is currently capable of providing VPN services tothe current user device and/or the previous user device, which has acurrent parameter and/or a historic parameter that is the same as orshares a common attribute with the determined parameter. In someaspects, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may determine that therequesting user device 102 with likely succeed in establishing a VPNconnection with and receiving VPN services from the given VPN server 120because the given VPN server 120 is not blocked (e.g., due to localizedblocking) in providing VPN services to user devices (e.g., therequesting user device 102 and/or the current user device and/or theprevious user device) having parameters that are the same or share anattribute. For at least these reasons, the VSP control infrastructure104 may determine the given VPN server 120 as the optimal VPN server forproviding VPN services to the requesting user device 102. In someaspects, the server picking unit 110, including the scoring engine 112and the processing unit 114, may be responsible for determining theoptimal VPN server based at least in part on a result of comparing thedetermined parameter with the current parameter and/or with the historicparameter.

Alternatively, when the VSP control infrastructure 104 determines thatthe determined parameter and the current parameter and/or the historicparameter (e.g., ASN, location, and/or any other parameter) are not thesame or do not share an attribute, the VSP control infrastructure 104may determine that the given VPN server 120, which is currently capableof providing VPN services to the current user device and/or the previoususer device, may not be capable of providing VPN services to therequesting user device 102. In this case, the VSP control infrastructure104 may refrain from determining the given VPN server 120 as the optimalVPN server for providing VPN services to the requesting user device 102,and/or from transmitting information about the given VPN server 120 tothe user device 102.

As shown by reference numeral 260, the VSP control infrastructure 104may transmit information about the optimal VPN server to the requestinguser device 102. Such information may enable the requesting user device102 to establish a VPN connection with the optimal VPN server. Forinstance, based at least in part on determining the given VPN server 120as the optimal VPN server, the VSP control infrastructure 104 maytransmit an IP address (and/or other information) of the given VPNserver 120 to the requesting user device 102 to enable the requestinguser device 102 to establish the VPN connection with the given VPNserver 120. In some aspects, the server picking unit 110, including thescoring engine 112 and the processing unit 114, may be responsible fortransmitting the information about the optimal VPN server to therequesting user device 102.

By determining the given VPN server 120 as the optimal VPN server and/orenabling the requesting user device 102 to establish the VPN connectionwith the given VPN server 120, the VSP control infrastructure 104 mayincrease a likelihood of establishing the VPN connection and avoid asituation in which the requesting user device 102 fails to establish theVPN connection due to, for example, localized blocking. In some aspects,the VSP control infrastructure 104 may also balance a number of userscurrently being serviced by the optimal VPN server (e.g., the given VPNserver 120) and other VPN servers 120.

In some aspects, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may compare aplurality of determined parameters with a respective plurality ofcurrent parameters, and may transmit the information associated with thegiven VPN server to the requesting user device 102 based at least inpart on a result of comparing the plurality of determined parameterswith the respective plurality of current parameters. Further, the VSPcontrol infrastructure 104 may transmit the information associated withthe given VPN server to the requesting user device 102 based at least inpart on determining that at least one of the plurality of determinedparameters is the same as or shares an attribute with at least one ofthe respective plurality of current parameters. For instance, the VSPcontrol infrastructure 104 may compare the determined location and thedetermined subnet (or any other combination of two or more determinedparameters) with the current location and the current subnet,respectively. Further, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may transmitthe information associated with the given VPN server to the requestinguser device 102 based at least in part on determining that thedetermined location is the same as or shares an attribute with thecurrent location and/or determining that the determined subnet is thesame as or shares an attribute with the current subnet.

In some aspects, the VSP control infrastructure 104 may perform tasksincluding obtaining the information from the connection request,determining a parameter from the obtained information, comparing thedetermined parameter to a current parameter, and/or determining theoptimal server based at least in part on a result of the comparison whenthe connection request is initially received from the requesting userdevice 102. In some aspects, the VSP control infrastructure 104 mayperform obtaining the information from the connection request,determining a parameter from the obtained information, comparing thedetermined parameter to a current parameter, and/or determining theoptimal server based at least in part on determining that the requestinguser device 102 has failed to establish a VPN connection with a VPNserver due to, for example, localized blocking. In some aspects,performance of one or more of the above tasks may be associated withand/or may be referred to as server picking. In some aspects, serverpicking maybe associated with determining a VPN server, from among aplurality of VPN servers, as an optimal VPN server. In some aspects, aprocessor (e.g., server picking unit 110 including scoring engine 112and processing unit 114) associated with the VSP control infrastructure104 may be configured to coordinate and/or to perform the above tasksassociated with one or more components included in the VSP controlinfrastructure 104.

As indicated above, FIG. 2 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 2 .

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example process 300 associated withserver picking in a VPN, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. In some aspects, the process 300 may be performed by a VSPcontrol infrastructure (e.g., VSP control infrastructure 104). As shownby reference numeral 310, process 300 includes determining a parameterassociated with a requesting user device requesting to establish a VPNconnection. For instance, the VSP control infrastructure may utilize anassociated processor/controller (e.g., server picking unit 110,processor 520) to determine a parameter associated with a requestinguser device requesting to establish a VPN connection, as discussedelsewhere herein.

As shown by reference numeral 320, process 300 includes comparing thedetermined parameter with a current parameter associated with a currentuser device having an established VPN connection with a VPN server. Forinstance, the VSP control infrastructure may utilize the associatedprocessor/controller to compare the determined parameter with a currentparameter associated with a current user device having an establishedVPN connection with a VPN server, as discussed elsewhere herein.

As shown by reference numeral 330, process 300 includes transmitting, tothe requesting user device, information associated with the VPN serverto enable the requesting user device to establish the VPN connectionwith the VPN server based at least in part on a result of comparing thedetermined parameter with the current parameter. For instance, the VSPcontrol infrastructure may utilize a communication interface (e.g.,communication interface 570) and the associated processor/controller totransmit, to the requesting user device, information associated with theVPN server to enable the requesting user device to establish the VPNconnection with the VPN server. In some aspects, the VSP controlinfrastructure may utilize the associated processor/controller totransmit the information associated with the VPN server based at leastin part on a result of comparing the determined parameter with thecurrent parameter.

Process 300 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect orany combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with oneor more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 300 may include receiving a connectionrequest from the requesting user device, wherein determining theparameter includes determining the parameter from information indicatedby the connection request.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, inprocess 300, determining the parameter includes determining anautonomous system number associated with the requesting user device.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with the first through secondaspects, in process 300, determining the parameter includes determininga location of the requesting user device.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with the first through thirdaspects, in process 300, transmitting the information associated withthe VPN server includes transmitting an IP address of the VPN server.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with the first through fourthaspects, in process 300, transmitting the information associated withthe VPN server includes transmitting the information based at least inpart on determining that the determined parameter is the same as thecurrent parameter.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with the first through fifthaspects, in process 300, transmitting the information associated withthe VPN server includes transmitting the information based at least inpart on determining that the determined parameter and the currentparameter share an attribute.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with the first throughsixth aspects, in process 300, the comparing includes comparing aplurality of determined parameters with a respective plurality ofcurrent parameters, and transmitting the information associated with theVPN server includes transmitting the information associated with the VPNserver based at least in part on a result of comparing the plurality ofdetermined parameters with the respective plurality of currentparameters.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with the first throughseventh aspects, process 300 includes comparing the determined parameterwith a historical parameter associated with a user device that haspreviously established a VPN connection with the VPN server, whereintransmitting the information associated with the VPN server includestransmitting the information associated with the VPN server based atleast in part on a result of comparing the determined parameter with thehistorical parameter.

Although FIG. 3 shows example blocks of the process, in some aspects,the process may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, differentblocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in FIG. 3 .Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of the processmay be performed in parallel.

As indicated above, FIG. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example process 400 associated withserver picking in a VPN, according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. In some aspects, the process 400 may be performed by a VSPcontrol infrastructure (e.g., VSP control infrastructure 104). As shownby reference numeral 410, process 400 includes obtaining informationfrom a connection request received from a requesting user devicerequesting VPN services. For instance, the VSP control infrastructuremay utilize an associated processor/controller (e.g., server pickingunit 110, processor 520) to obtain information from a connection requestreceived from a requesting user device requesting VPN services, asdiscussed elsewhere herein.

As shown by reference numeral 420, process 400 includes determining aparameter based at least in part on the obtained information. Forinstance, the VSP control infrastructure may utilize the associatedprocessor/controller to determine a parameter based at least in part onthe obtained information, as discussed elsewhere herein.

As shown by reference numeral 430, process 400 includes comparing thedetermined parameter with a current parameter associated with a currentuser device currently receiving VPN services. For instance, the VSPcontrol infrastructure may utilize the associated processor/controllerto compare the determined parameter with a current parameter associatedwith a current user device currently receiving VPN services.

As shown by reference numeral 440, process 400 includes determining anoptimal VPN server for providing VPN services to the requesting userdevice based at least in part on a result of comparing the determinedparameter with the current parameter. For instance, the VSP controlinfrastructure may utilize the associated processor/controller todetermine an optimal VPN server for providing VPN services to therequesting user device based at least in part on a result of comparingthe determined parameter with the current parameter, as discussedelsewhere herein.

Process 400 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect orany combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with oneor more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, in process 400, determining the optimal VPN serverincludes determining a VPN server that is currently providing the VPNservices to the current user device as the optimal VPN server.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, inprocess 400, determining the optimal server includes determining theoptimal server based at least in part on determining that the determinedparameter is the same as the current parameter.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with the first through secondaspects, in process 400, determining the optimal server includesdetermining the optimal server based at least in part on determiningthat the determined parameter and the current parameter share anattribute.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with the first through thirdaspects, in process 400, obtaining the information from the connectionrequest includes obtaining an internet protocol (IP) address associatedwith the requesting user device, and determining the parameter includesdetermining a location or an internet service provider (ISP) associatedwith the requesting user device based at least in part on the IP addressof the requesting user device.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with the first through fourthaspects, in process 400, comparing the determined parameter with thecurrent parameter includes comparing a plurality of determinedparameters with a respective plurality of current parameters, anddetermining the optimal VPN server includes determining the optimal VPNserver based at least in part on a result of comparing the plurality ofdetermined parameters with the respective plurality of currentparameters.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with the first through fifthaspects, process 400 includes receiving the connection request from therequesting user device, wherein determining the parameter includesdetermining the parameter based at least in part on informationindicated by the connection request.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with the first throughsixth aspects, process 400 includes comparing the determined parameterwith a historical parameter associated with a user device that hasreceived VPN services within a given time period, wherein determiningthe optimal VPN server includes determining the optimal server based atleast in part on a result of comparing the determined parameter with thehistorical parameter.

Although FIG. 4 shows example blocks of the process, in some aspects,the process may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, differentblocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in FIG. 4 .Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of the processmay be performed in parallel.

As indicated above, FIG. 4 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 4 .

FIG. 5 is an illustration of example devices 500, according to variousaspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, the example devices500 may form part of or implement the systems, environments,infrastructures, components, or the like described elsewhere herein(e.g., FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 2 ) and may be used to perform the processesdescribed with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4 . The example devices 500 mayinclude a universal bus 510 communicatively coupling a processor 520, amemory 530, a storage component 540, an input component 550, an outputcomponent 560, and a communication interface 570.

Bus 510 may include a component that permits communication amongmultiple components of a device 500. Processor 520 may be implemented inhardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software.Processor 520 may take the form of a central processing unit (CPU), agraphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), amicroprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In someaspects, processor 520 may include one or more processors capable ofbeing programmed to perform a function. Memory 530 may include a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and/or another type ofdynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magneticmemory, and/or an optical memory) that stores information and/orinstructions for use by processor 520.

Storage component 540 may store information and/or software related tothe operation and use of a device 500. For example, storage component540 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk,and/or a magneto-optic disk), a solid state drive (SSD), a compact disc(CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, amagnetic tape, and/or another type of non-transitory computer-readablemedium, along with a corresponding drive.

Input component 550 may include a component that permits a device 500 toreceive information, such as via user input (e.g., a touch screendisplay, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and/or amicrophone). Additionally, or alternatively, input component 550 mayinclude a component for determining location (e.g., a global positioningsystem (GPS) component) and/or a sensor (e.g., an accelerometer, agyroscope, an actuator, another type of positional or environmentalsensor, and/or the like). Output component 560 may include a componentthat provides output information from device 500 (via, for example, adisplay, a speaker, a haptic feedback component, an audio or visualindicator, and/or the like).

Communication interface 570 may include a transceiver-like component(e.g., a transceiver, a separate receiver, a separate transmitter,and/or the like) that enables a device 500 to communicate with otherdevices, such as via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or acombination of wired and wireless connections. Communication interface570 may permit device 500 to receive information from another deviceand/or provide information to another device. For example, communicationinterface 570 may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, acoaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency (RF)interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, acellular network interface, and/or the like.

A device 500 may perform one or more processes described elsewhereherein. A device 500 may perform these processes based on processor 520executing software instructions stored by a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, such as memory 530 and/or storage component540. As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” may refer to anon-transitory memory device. A memory device may include memory spacewithin a single physical storage device or memory space spread acrossmultiple physical storage devices.

Software instructions may be read into memory 530 and/or storagecomponent 540 from another computer-readable medium or from anotherdevice via communication interface 570. When executed, softwareinstructions stored in memory 530 and/or storage component 540 may causeprocessor 520 to perform one or more processes described elsewhereherein. Additionally, or alternatively, hardware circuitry may be usedin place of or in combination with software instructions to perform oneor more processes described elsewhere herein. Thus, implementationsdescribed herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software.

The quantity and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 5 are providedas an example. In practice, a device 500 may include additionalcomponents, fewer components, different components, or differentlyarranged components than those shown in FIG. 5 . Additionally, oralternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of adevice 500 may perform one or more functions described as beingperformed by another set of components of a device 500.

As indicated above, FIG. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with regard to FIG. 5 .

Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the aspectsencompassed by the present disclosure are not limited to the particularexemplary aspects described herein. In that regard, althoughillustrative aspects have been shown and described, a wide range ofmodification, change, and substitution is contemplated in the foregoingdisclosure. It is understood that such variations may be made to theaspects without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construedbroadly and in a manner consistent with the present disclosure.

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the preciseform disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of theabove disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.

As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construedas hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. Asused herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, or acombination of hardware and software.

As used herein, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context,refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equalto the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to thethreshold, equal to the threshold, or not equal to the threshold, amongother examples, or combinations thereof.

It will be apparent that systems or methods described herein may beimplemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combinationof hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware orsoftware code used to implement these systems or methods is not limitingof the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems ormethods were described herein without reference to specific softwarecode—it being understood that software and hardware can be designed toimplement the systems or methods based, at least in part, on thedescription herein.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in theclaims or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are notintended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many ofthese features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in theclaims or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claimlisted below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure ofvarious aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with everyother claim in the claim set. A phrase referring to “at least one of” alist of items refers to any combination of those items, including singlemembers. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended tocover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination withmultiples of the same element (for example, a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c,a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering ofa, b, and c).

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed ascritical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as usedherein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or moreitems, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, asused herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more itemsreferenced in connection with the article “the” and may be usedinterchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, theterm “set” is intended to include one or more items (e.g., relateditems, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items,etc.), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where onlyone item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used.Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” or the like areintended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” isintended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly statedotherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to beinclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with“and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used incombination with “either” or “only one of”).

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: transmitting, by arequesting user device to an infrastructure device associated with avirtual private network (VPN), a connection request for receiving VPNservices; receiving, by the requesting user device from theinfrastructure device, connection information associated with a VPNserver selected for providing the VPN services to the requesting userdevice, the VPN server being selected based at least in part on acomparison between a parameter associated with the requesting userdevice and a current parameter associated with another user devicecurrently receiving VPN services from the VPN server; and transmitting,by the requesting user device to the VPN server, an initiation requestto receive the VPN services from the VPN server based at least in parton utilizing the connection information.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein transmitting the connection request includes transmitting theconnection request including information to be utilized for determiningthe parameter associated with the requesting user device.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein receiving the connection information includesreceiving an internet protocol (IP) address associated with the VPNserver.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the connectioninformation includes receiving the connection information based at leastin part on a determination that the parameter associated with therequesting user device matches the current parameter associated with theother user device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting theinitiation request includes transmitting the initiation request to aninternet protocol (IP) address associated with the VPN server.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the parameter associated with the requestinguser device indicates a location of the requesting user device.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the parameter associated with the requestinguser device indicates an identity of an internet service providerproving network services to the requesting user device.
 8. A requestinguser device, comprising: a memory; and a processor communicativelycoupled to the memory, the memory and the processor being configured to:transmit, to an infrastructure device associated with a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a connection request for receiving VPN services; receive,from the infrastructure device, connection information associated with aVPN server selected for providing the VPN services to the requestinguser device, the VPN server being selected based at least in part on acomparison between a parameter associated with the requesting userdevice and a current parameter associated with another user devicecurrently receiving VPN services from the VPN server; and transmit, tothe VPN server, an initiation request to receive the VPN services fromthe VPN server based at least in part on utilizing the connectioninformation.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein, to transmit theconnection request, the memory and the processor are configured totransmit the connection request including information to be utilized fordetermining the parameter associated with the requesting user device.10. The device of claim 8, wherein, to receive the connectioninformation, the memory and the processor are configured to receive aninternet protocol (IP) address associated with the VPN server.
 11. Thedevice of claim 8, wherein, to receive the connection information, thememory and the processor are configured to receive the connectioninformation based at least in part on a determination that the parameterassociated with the requesting user device matches the current parameterassociated with the other user device.
 12. The device of claim 8,wherein, to transmit the initiation request, the memory and theprocessor are configured to transmit the initiation request to aninternet protocol (IP) address associated with the VPN server.
 13. Thedevice of claim 8, wherein the parameter associated with the requestinguser device indicates a location of the requesting user device.
 14. Thedevice of claim 8, wherein the parameter associated with the requestinguser device indicates an identity of an internet service providerproving network services to the requesting user device.
 15. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium configured to storeinstructions, which when executed by a processor associated with arequesting user device, configure the processor to: transmit, to aninfrastructure device associated with a virtual private network (VPN), aconnection request for receiving VPN services; receive, from theinfrastructure device, connection information associated with a VPNserver selected for providing the VPN services to the requesting userdevice, the VPN server being selected based at least in part on acomparison between a parameter associated with the requesting userdevice and a current parameter associated with another user devicecurrently receiving VPN services from the VPN server; and transmit, tothe VPN server, an initiation request to receive the VPN services fromthe VPN server based at least in part on utilizing the connectioninformation.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim15, wherein, to transmit the connection request, the processor isconfigured to transmit the connection request including information tobe utilized for determining the parameter associated with the requestinguser device.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim15, wherein, to receive the connection information, the processor isconfigured to receive an internet protocol (IP) address associated withthe VPN server.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim15, wherein, to receive the connection information, the processor isconfigured to receive the connection information based at least in parton a determination that the parameter associated with the requestinguser device matches the current parameter associated with the other userdevice.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein, to transmit the initiation request, the processor is configuredto transmit the initiation request to an internet protocol (IP) addressassociated with the VPN server.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the parameter associated with the requestinguser device indicates a location of the requesting user device or anidentity of an internet service provider proving network services to therequesting user device.